Running Just Comes Naturally For Osceola's Finnish-born Harjula

June 2, 1985|By Frank Carroll of The Sentinel Staff

KISSIMMEE — A green rookie when he arrived in the United States last August, Finnish- born foreign exchange student Veli Matti Harjula developed into Osceola High School's blue-ribbon caliber cross country and track phenom.

A chance meeting last fall of Harajula and Coach Mal Harpell opened the door on Harjula's unexpected track success.

Harjula, interested in soccer, asked Harpell the identity of Osceola's coach and learned the sport isn't offered at OHS.

A native of Rovaniemi, a town of 35,000 located south of the Arctic Circle, Harjula took to Florida's heat and high humidity like a duck to water, finally coming into his own during the Orange Belt Conference cross country meet, where he was fourth and equaled Charlton's personal best of 15:34.

The OBC and district mile champion, with a season-best 4:34 clocking, Harjula also was timed in 2:06 for the half mile.

He qualified for the state Class AAA meet at Winter Park's Showalter Field at Tampa's regional in all three events. Ranked 11th among the state's Class AAA 2-milers, Harjuala pulled out all the stops with a stunning fourth-place finish behind a personal best time of 9:50.3.

Harjula's ability to overcome cultural and athletic barriers make him an obvious choice as the Osceola Sentinel's most valuable track athlete. He captains the Sentinel's 16-member All-County team.

Osceola dominates the roster with 10 members, including four seniors, five juniors and two freshmen. St. Cloud answers with three seniors and a trio of juniors.

Other than Harjula's exploits, the recently-concluded track season wasn't spectacular in achievement. The only school record to tumble was St. Cloud's mile relay mark. Seniors Alex Stephens and Murray Harvey, in tandem with juniors Matt Howerton and Jim King, set the new mark at 3:29.9.